The Ultimate Landing Page Optimization Guide: 3 UX and Conversion Rate Optimization Strategies

Do you want to know the secret of a high conversion rate? Landing pages. Landing pages are a crucial part of conversion rate optimization, because they provide your visitors with relevant and engaging content before they ask them to take any action. Planning a landing page can be challenging, but there are many UX strategies and page optimization tactics that will help make the process easier. In this guide, we will discuss how UX design influences landing pages from both perspectives: user experience and conversion rate optimization.

What is a landing page?

Landing pages are the first things your visitors will experience when they learn more about you and your product. Landing pages helps your target audience and website visitors navigate a customer journey and ensure they eventually turn into leads or customers. The quality information on these landing pages makes the difference in how well page optimization is for lead generation or purchases!

A landing page often gives a potential customer the first impression of your business. It is important to take into account the landing page optimization needed to create the best customer experience and the highest conversion rate.

An excellent way to optimize every aspect of your landing page is to ask potential buyers questions they might ask themselves while looking at your landing page or product, and to give the answers directly on your landing page. It is important to not only know what kind of commitment you are asking from your buyers, but also at which stage of the customer journey someone is located at the moment. Do they need any more information at this stage? What concerns do they have? These are crucial questions to ask yourself and potential buyers to adapt the landing page optimization to their needs.

A landing page does not have to be too lengthy (if you can provide all your important information in less than 500 words in the landing page copy, it is easy for the prospect to get through the information). It should contain specific, well-written texts and clearly tell the readers what they will get when they sign up for your offer or buy your product.

So now that we have set out what a landing page is, let's get into how to build the most optimized version for your business!

The Landing Page Optimization Guide you wish you had

One of the dominant problems you will face when building your landing page is that it is impossible to know who all your website visitors are coming to your landing page. A landing page is an instinctive way to get your content in front of people, but many companies that use them wonder where website visitors come from and how they have found this particular landing page, or if they're even the target audience.

This is a real problem, but it can be easily solved by creating hyper-focused landing pages based on user behavior on your website. This can be achieved by using tools that create a profile for your visitors with all their interactions on your website. This data can be if someone has signed up for a newsletter, browsed a certain page or visited your website three times in the last week. This data will also help you in the struggles of optimizing landing pages in the future, and now, as you'll soon discover a pattern for your target market and what landing page elements they respond to and increase conversions.

In last week's article on micro and macro conversions, I touched on the importance of creating an understanding of your customers. This is equally important when it comes to landing page optimization!

The best way to proceed with this method is to create a more generalized landing page for "all" visitors, which offers the user an incentive to register for a newsletter, webinar or other freebies, like a coupon code or eBook, to increase conversions. Once they have signed up, you can customize their journey with emails and landing pages based on how they respond to your communication in the next few weeks. Maybe they seem reluctant, but interested? Create optimized landing pages that answer many common questions and show social proof of your business.

Optimize to drive landing page conversion rate up

Optimizing landing pages is crucial to keep your potential customer happy and returning for more, which means speedy loading of content, including text and images (especially content like a hero image, often is the first element a potential customer sees)! The speed at which you can load your website will determine how long it takes visitors to decide whether they want more information from your business. If there is a chance, this could be their first impression of your business - don't let them wait!

Google will essentially consider your landing page optimization efforts when it calculates your search score.

Page speed is important not only for the impression you leave with the visitor, but also for SEO (Search Engiene Optimization), as Google calculates load speed in its ranking algorithms. The speed can also directly impact conversion rates, how well your Google Ads perform and ad spend. Who wants a higher customer acquisition cost?

Some things that can help with landing page optimization are the removal of duplicate code or style sheets, the minimization of the size of images on pages, so everything loads faster - especially if you use a WordPress that does not have integrated features specifically designed to improve speed!

Some factors to consider when optimizing your landing page for speed:

Use optimization tools to remove unnecessary code and minimize load times.

Check if images are optimized correctly.

Remove duplicate code and style sheets.

Use landing page optimization tools like Google PageSpeed and GTMetrix to find the cause of your website being slow.

How do I optimize my landing page conversion rate?

Landing page optimization is a term that refers to the process of improving your landing page for better conversion rates. Landing pages can be optimized in many ways, but a crucial way to get started is to analyze the user experience. If you are interested in making improvements, it is important to start with UX research. This can be done both on the landing page itself, but also on the competitors to get a picture of what the user expects when they land on your page.

UX research should be at the heart of your landing page optimization efforts.

UX research involves surveying users and asking them what they think about the design, content, layout, etc. of your landing pages, so that you can make the necessary changes to increase the conversion rate accordingly. This will also provide valuable information about the competition and what they are doing well/poorly.

Some methods you can use to conduct UX research for your landing page:

Usability testing

Surveys

Landing page optimization tests with speed tools like Pingdom

Market research

Heat maps

User session recordings

Customer journey mapping - Can be easily done with Google Analytics

Studying competitors that rank high in organic search

You can also use A/B testing to optimize your landing page by testing a few variations. This way, you can easily determine which variation of the landing page gets the best results from users and creates more conversions. Therefore, it is easier to make more accurate design decisions to get higher conversion rates. I will go more into this later in this article.

Landing page optimization: applying the 3-step CRO plan to landing pages

A landing page is often the first impression a company has with its paying customers, and the optimization of the conversion rate of these pages can make or break a legitimate business. Landing page design is an important part of UX design, as it should be designed to attract visitors and optimize conversions. Landing page optimization takes into account three key areas: user experience, marketing and conversion rate optimization.

Below you will find three areas on which I think it is important to focus to achieve this.

The fundamentals on how to optimize landing pages for more conversions

It may be necessary for marketers to develop a comprehensive and complicated landing page, but be in line with the message you want to convey to potential customers, as this will help reduce the risk of poor click rates. Different people react to different content, so some might spend more time on the site before they understand and receive your message. Others, however, might already be interested in what you can offer, and immediately click your call-to-action.

Landing page optimization is not only about increasing conversions, but also about reducing bounce rates by providing users with relevant information when they arrive at your website from an advertising or search engine. Landing pages should only convey a focused message, so there are no distractions for visitors interested in your business. If you can, you should limit any way in which the user can click from the landing page and view other content, lead them down your site and to all call-to-action buttons that capture leads, or use micro-conversions along the way to follow up on them at a later time.

It's important to stick to your core message when building your landing page optimization efforts. And don't forget the call-to-action buttons!

Marketing landing page optimization is much more than simply optimizing the landing page experience of a single landing page, but also contains other elements that can be crucial to success, often off-page. Landing pages are at the intersection between marketing and UX design, because they rely on both aspects to succeed. For example, if users don't find it easy to navigate and find what they need, the landing page will fail. Landing pages should be designed with relevant keywords and copy that can improve search engine rankings and give visitors valuable information. They should also include call-to-action buttons (CTAs) or a type of landing page form, so visitors know exactly where to go next based on their needs or interests.

Landing pages are an essential part of marketing and UX. Landing page optimization is more than merely optimizing the user experience on a landing page, but also includes other elements that can be crucial to success. Think of the landing page as a place where you tell your potential customers a story about what you offer and why they should trust you as the best option for them.

A/B test your landing pages and stop wasting money

A/B testing of a landing page is a wonderful way to understand which landing page experience will be most effective for your website. With A/B testing, you can quickly find the adjustments necessary to increase the conversions of your landing page and capture leads, get more customers and create a better user experience.

A/B tests can help convert more site visitors into buyers, but also improve the values of your products or services. Once you have discovered a landing page form or design that works well, don't leave it as it is forever. After identifying a design that works for cheaper goods and services, A/B test it. You may discover customers are willing to pay a premium for more expensive options that appear to offer more perceived value with merely a few tweaks and continuous A/B comparison tests on your landing page.

A/B testing can be a valuable tool when you want to test different forms or messaging on your landing page or website.

Many people believe A/B tests are only for forms, photos and real text when it comes to your site. Nevertheless, you can test any messaging or campaign to get the right type of visitor by making changes on their landing page! The slightest change could make a huge difference in determining which combination attracts more leads and turns them into visitors who decide what they want at all costs. Don't hesitate; it's better to act now and start testing than wait until your competitor grabs the spotlight from you with their own landing page!

While more data is typically preferable in testing, this is not always the case with A/B tests. Although early findings should be taken with a grain of salt, you do not need millions of page views to find out which versions offer greater results for a landing page that generates few conversions daily - you can still rely on patterns in the data you have and start the landing page optimization immediately! Even if you're just starting out or generating only one or two sales per week, find out what conversion brings most customers so far without spending too much time waiting for a lot of visitors.

Optimize your landing page form for a higher conversion rate

If your landing page collects leads or e-mail subscribers, you should optimize the form fields on the page. With the right number of fields, you can reduce friction and increase your lead capture, and create a happy and satisfied lead.

The amount of time a landing page is visited, often known as "user engagement," rises above the fold. Consequently, incorporating essential elements like forms, call to action (CTAs), etc. into early real estate may help potential customers notice them and help with lead acquisition. Above-the-fold engagement is the most crucial, and everything below builds on it when it comes to landing page optimization.

A short form that goes straight to the point on a landing page, like the one I have created for my book, can increase your conversion rates and create a better user experience for your potential customers or leads.

Although users may encounter different landing pages on their phones, according to a Nielsen Group study, the difference in how people treat content above the fold vs. below is 84 percent. This means you should always invest in getting your value proposition above the fold and visible to the visitor.

Now that we have the placement down, we need to look at friction and clutter in your lead generation form. The form should stand out, and if you use too many flashy elements around it, it can be complicated for the user and lead to less converting visitors. I often observe companies filling their landing pages with all kinds of elements, images and texts that frankly become bewildering. The prospect will evaluate the offer and decide whether it is suitable for them. The copy should be convincing, and the design should simply help you create a strong interest. You don't want to overwhelm your prospects.

Take Google as an example. They have removed all clutter so their users can get to the point of their whole service.

And the last, but probably most important point, is to shorten your forms. Do you need the address of every prospect? Do you even need their last name? What about superfluous personal information like "what is your favorite color?" Landing pages are there to capture an email address, not make friends. The more fields you have on the form, the less likely it will be completed. Contact forms with more form fields produced fewer conversions, according to research from Dan Zarrella at HubSpot. When the number of form fields is reduced from 4 to 3, conversion rates increased by almost half!

Zarrella, D. (2021). Which Types of Form Fields Lower Landing Page Conversions?. Retrieved 17 September 2021.

If you want to boost your sales, don't forget to nurture lead once the form is complete. According to a SalesForce study, it can be crucial to convince them to buy: "Companies excelling at lead-nurturing generate 50% more saleable leads and have 33% lower cost per conversion."

Find hooks to convince people to convert with landing page content

The third and final part of the optimization of your landing page initiative involves surveying your customer base to understand what drives them and what motivates them to act. We often refer to this as the "hook". This is a crucial step to find the right motivation and apply it in your landing page. Landing pages should always be tailored towards a certain target group. The "hook" is the best way to acquire information about what motivates them to act, how they feel when considering that action, and their resistance points. This can then be used to answer any concerns buyers might have when they land on your website in a FAQ section.

Tailor the story of your landing page to answer any questions your possible clients may have and "hook" them in.

If you are still in your early days, you can opt for a different approach - find a competitor and ask your customers. You can find their customers on social channels in tagged images, hashtags and reviews!

Before you push the button “Go Live” on your new landing page

It's better to go live with something than nothing is what I often tell myself. But make sure you have gone through the suggestions in this article and have some options for A/B testing.

Start with a small advertising budget, so you don't blow all your money on a landing page that doesn't convert at all. And don't be afraid to fail and start over. Landing pages are like the rest of your website, where there is no one-size-fits-all formula. It is about testing and learning in a small way, to gradually improve your CRO over time with the help of this article.

Wrapping up your landing page optimization

Landing pages are an essential part of any marketing strategy, but they can be difficult to optimize. Optimization of landing pages is an important and often overlooked aspect of digital marketing. Landing pages are the first contact point with potential customers, so it is crucial that you create a positive experience for them. The design of landing pages has been shown to have a significant impact on conversion rates and lead generation success.

via GIPHY

This article hopefully provides you with some UX design tips and CRO strategies to help you improve your landing page conversions. I hope it also shows you how to find the right hooks for your target group to maximize their engagement with your offer!